Author's Note

I need you guys' opinions on some of the experimental writing. I probably won't do the texting thing again.It was really annoying to edit and to write, but I felt like it added a little bit more to this chapter

I need to know if you guys like switching povs. I kind of like them for how I get to write the story, but if it gets tedious or annoying or too hard to track, just let me know.

Other than that, this is the next chapter. I don't know when the next one will be out. I have an idea for the actual story and how I wanted to go but getting it mapped out and everything is taking a little bit longer. I've never had a story explode this much before, and i'm not gonna lie. I want to live up to the expectation you guys have and it's kind of scary. Enjoy the read every pony

Old ghosts

Bankrupt Love: Finding Friendship

Chapter Two: Old Ghosts

Cadence

Cadence wasn’t late for her bus; thank Faust, she had made it to the bus spot just as it pulled up to a stop, letting off then picking up the residents of New Canter lot. She boarded quickly, scanning her bus pass and finding a seat in the back of the bus, right next to what looked like a griffon who was down on its luck. She did her best to look the struggling creature in the eye; long ago, her heart would have won over, and she would have slipped the creature some money to help. Today, however, she didn’t have the money for hoof outs.

It hurt her more than anything, not being able to help those who really needed it, but she couldn’t help them if she couldn’t help herself, not even to speak about the changeling that she left back in her home. She had enough on her plate, sadly. The bus finished loading and pulled forward, causing the creatures on board to jerk slightly as the magic engine pulled the bus along. Cadence thought about the times that the Equestrian rail system was the most advanced travel they had; the coal engine was at the forefront of locomotion.

She looked around, her eyes scanning past the glass windows of the bus and into the roads of New Canterlot; she still expected to see drawn carriages instead of the magic-powered ones that lined the roads. She wanted to enjoy the arcane tech that came from this world she lived in. Equestrian science had advanced much since the times of old. She watched the cluttered streets as metal carriages rushed passed each other at frightening pace, there was still that voice in the back of her mind asking that one question, had they had grown too fast, fixing problems that were never a problem in the first place.

Just after Twilight was removed from the throne, when ponies could still remember the time when the weather was moved by pony hooves and the sun and moon were raised with magic alone, the historians of the world came together to write a report on the history up until then. The book was almost impossible to find today, and anyone that read it thought it to be nothing more than a fool's story, but to those that read it at that time, it was a work of art.

It did, however, bring up a point that Cadence still thought about: at one point in the book, there was a chapter on the stagnation that came with having the same ruler for thousands of years. She wanted to deny that they could have done that; they just wanted the best for their little ponies. Yet she couldn’t help but also think of all the times that they had the chance to grow as a society and either Luna, Celestia, or Twilight solved the problem for them. It made her wonder if they held back all that the world could have been.

The buzzing of her phone brought her back to the real world once more. Cadence pulled it out of the pocket she had on her vest and unlocked it; her home screen came into view. It was a picture of her as Silver Lining with three other mares, one a bright purple unicorn with a dark pink mane done up in a bun, a set of glasses perched at the base of her horn. A smile spread over her face; as she was wedged between the other two.

The mare to her left was a dark blue with a black mane; most of her fur and mane, however, was covered by a red hoodie that she refused to take off, and a set of permanent dark bags hung from her eyes. She looked like the living dead, drinking from an entire pot of coffee the moment the photo was taken. The mare to the right had a bright white coat and an almost glowing yellow mane, to anyone that just looked way her in passing thought she was the brightest pony in the city, Cadence could see the forced slime however, and she too had bags under her eyes. In between them all, of course, was her.

The photo was an old one, back when Cadence had made the Silver Lining disguise; back then it was just supposed to be like all of her other fake lives, simply a means to an end. That was before Celestia and Luna went missing, when times were not better but definitely happier. She and Twilight looked for years, trying every lead, overturning every rock. Nothing came up; the only way that they knew that they were okay was because the sun and moon set like they were supposed to.

A second buzz pulled her away from the photo and to her scroll app; she opened it, looking at the latest message that had been sent to her. Two little red dots sat over the name Twinkle. She used her magic to push down on the screen, opening the conversation.

Twinkle

Hey, are you awake?

Please tell me you aren’t watching the news.

Twinkle is typing…

Cadence typed out her response before Twinkle could.

No, I am on the way to work.

What's the matter?

Did something come up?

Twinkle is typing…

Cadence closed her app, swiping over to the news app that her phone had. With a click, it opened, and she nearly dropped it when she read the headline.

Council passed bill: The end of an era?

Late last night, with an astounding unanimous vote, a bill was passed through the chamber ending the funding for the Crystal Castle preservation program.

The world felt heavy as Cadence’s mind went into overdrive; the funding was being cut. That wasn't… what happened to… Her mind went from thought to thought too quickly to contain even one as she fell more and more into a pit of grief. She read the next three texts that came through in rapid succession.

I am so sorry.

They just wouldn’t listen.

Is it okay for me to come by tonight?

Cadence typed out her response in three short texts.

I have work today.

I get off at five.

won't be back until after six

Cadence's brain wouldn't let her get out anything more than a short answer; she knew that this day would come eventually, but not so soon. She had done the math; all the wealth that she sacrificed shouldn’t have run out by now. What was the council doing? Her thoughts were on the verge of a spiral when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It read Home Phone.

Chrysalis

She hovered in front of the phone that hung on the wall. It was an older model, one that hadn’t been used in years, maybe even a decade or two, yet for it to be in this home almost felt right. She took the phone from the wall, her eyes darting from the number pad to the paper that had Cadence's number on it. She held it on her magic, staring at it like I was a snake that would strike her at any moment.

She said to call her if she needed anything, and after watching the news, something in the back of her heart had been eating away at her; she knew better than any creature alive today what it was like to lose a home, and with the news being in the headline, there was no way that Cadence had missed it. She dialed the number slowly. She didn’t seem to be out of it this morning, and Chrysalis would have been able to taste the sadness that this kind of news would have caused.

She had to assume that it came out after she had left the house, meaning that her friend—were they friends?—was out there dealing with the loss of her home without anyone to understand. The phone rang once, twice, and was answered soon after the third. The voice on the other end was strained; gone was the prep and panic of the morning the two had replaced with a somber tone. Chrysalis didn’t even have to be near her to taste the grief that rolled off the mare.

The hello that she said was more than enough to give way to how she felt; there was a hint of betrayal that made its way through the sadness. Chrysalis was glad that she had called; now all she had to do was something that she had never had to do: comfort some pony. Her mind was both racing and frozen at the same time; what should she say, and what should she do?

She licked her dry lips, finally getting a thought out: “I was…” she paused. “Are you…” She forced herself to breathe. Why was this hard? She had ruled a nation; she attacked Canterlot; she was the last of the changeling queens. She found some of that old confidence, what little remained. “I called to make sure you were okay,” the sentience came out with less of the nervousness that stopped her earlier. It was a waiting game after that.

As she waited her own thoughts turned against her. Great job Chrysalis? she shook her head. How can you help her if you can't even talk? She was about to have a fight with herself when Cadence’s voice came from the other end of the line, killing the self made argument that she was having, “thank you,” the voice was tired this time, but for some reason not as sad.

Chrysalis was confused. “you’re welcome,” she said with a voice that hinted at that confusion. Cadence must have picked up on it because a sound came from the phone that Chrysalis had never heard her make before, a giggle. It wasn't super happy, but it was a giggle nonetheless. Her face heated for a moment, but Chrysalis got a hold of herself. “I am not okay, but this is something that I saw coming, maybe not so soon, but coming none the less” she was tired at the end of the sentience her age showing more than it ever had before.

Chrysalis sat there for a moment dazed at what she did, trying to figure out what she had done. All she did was ask if her was okay, and that made her feel better. Was that just how ponies worked? For the longest time, she didn’t even care to think about it; they were, after all, nothing but a meal to her. She had changed over the course of the night, maybe not much, but enough to make her want to find out.

Chrysalis found herself now asking herself what a pony would do, how would they comfort a friend in a time of need, she spent so much time hiding among them that you would think that she would have learned this by now, yet her mind could come up with anything. She thought back to the times when ponies accidentally cared, when friendship was what ruled the world; they just talked, didn’t they? They couldn’t just gloss over the problem, though; Chrysalis at least knew that wasn't healthy for any creature.

She found her voice a moment later, talking about the problem might help the both of them; Chrysalis did, after all, have questions. “You saw this coming,” she asked. She had never thought that her empire would come to an end until it did; even in her worst nightmares, she never saw her castle falling into ruin by the hoof of her own subjects.

There was a stiff laugh, not bad, and not as nice as the giggle earlier. The laugh reminded Chrysalis of when she was younger and missed something during a lesson that her mother found amusing. “Nothing lasts forever, Chrysalis; it's a lesson that we all learn sometime.” Chrysalis bowed her head; it was a lesson that was hard to learn, one that a long time ago she learned with her own fall. Cadence had seen all of this happen; it was only right that she would learn from it.

All that still didn’t help the feeling she knew that Cadence must have been feeling; even if it wasn't her current home, it had been in the past, and memories of a nest didn’t fade as easily as one might think. “I just wanted to say…” What did she want to say? Chrysalis stopped for a moment to think about it. Cadence thankfully letting the changeling get her words in order, “I know what it is like to lose a home; I am sorry.”

Cadence was silent for a moment. “Thank you, Chrysalis, really thank you.” Chrysalis smiled at that; she had helped. A warm feeling spread through her chest; it was an odd feeling. She had helped ponies before, but never out of kindness, more out of necessity; this was a wholly new feeling. “While I have you on the phone, I have something to tell you.”

Chrysalis’s curiosity was piqued at this; she had called for help, but now Cadence had news for her. “What is it?” she asked, her voice hinting at how she was feeling. There was a pregnant pause before Cadence spoke her voice was more cautious and calm “Twilight will be stopping by later, I don’t know how she is going to react to you” Chrysalis’s eyes dilated, and fear went through her.

In the past she wouldn't have been too scared of the purple alicorn; she had, after all, taken down Celestia in her prime. She was, however, no longer in her prime, and the purple mare had more than enough reason to hate her just as much, if not more so, than Cadence. Cadence must have seen this coming, as her next words came out fast, with a tone that was filled with as much confidence and authority that could come from an immortal alicorn.

“Hey, it doesn’t matter what happened in the past.” She tried her best to smother the spreading fire “Twilight wont do anything to you while I am there to stop her” she let that sit for a moment “If I can forgive you, she can to” that helped little to the panicking Chrysalis, but she had saved her from the streets last night, Cadence had feed her and brought her back to her home, and feed her again, so to not take her at her word would be an insult, Chrysalis would just have to trust her in this.

Cadence let out a sigh. “My stop is coming up soon; I have to go.” Chrysalis listened as Cadence spoke. “Thank you for calling; it really did help.”

“I am glad that I was able to help.” Chrysalis had meant it as well; she had faked so many emotions over the millennia. To a changeling, they were nothing but food, yet now she was feeling them, honestly feeling what she had long faked. She was not used to such a thing.

Cadence let out a quiet expletive before speaking again. “Faust this is my stop, I will be home later talk then, have a good day” and then hung the phone up with a click. That just left Chrysalis holding her dead phone line, in a house that she had been invited into, with a pony that promised to protect and help her. Some changeling she turned out to be, and yet she had a feeling of happiness. She held the phone in her hand, letting out a silent but just audible “Have a nice day” before she hung it up.

Flurry Heart

The world they lived in has gone to shit, and it felt like she was the only one doing anything about it. She had grown up in the stories of her aunt Twilight fighting off hordes of Equestria's enemies so that they could live in harmony. What of now, though? The ponies that the alicorns had so long watched over were destroying themselves, and they did nothing about it. She refused to be a bystander in this world.

Aunty Twilight had all but given up when the council had taken her crown. What the ponies wanted, she could see some of the wisdom in that; they weren’t tyrants, but for her own mother to give up the sovereignty of the Crystal Empire to these upstart reformist nobles that claimed to be for any pony but themselves, she and all the others had a falling out after that. They saw the changing times; they saw a world that didn’t need them anymore; Flurry Heart saw a world that needed them more than ever.

That led her to today; she had the story that would break her. She stood in front of the capitol building of New Canterlot, the heart of the ever-growing city, where the corrupt and powerful made the decision that would benefit the upper class at the cost of the lower. She stood waiting to confront the bastard that was about to take the only real home she had left from her. Councilor Royal Scroll had just pushed through a bill that was cutting the last of the funding to the preservation of the Crystal Palace.

She hadn’t become a news pony for nothing; it was stories like this that mattered the most. Most ponies forgot that the Crystal Castle was even a thing, but to her that didn’t matter. She stood in front of the camera, her disguise staring back at her as she looked at the test screen on the van that they rode in to get here. She had chosen one that would stand out on screen; her yellow fur and orange mane made her pop out on the screen for any pony that was scrolling through the channels.

The news channel that she ran was a small one, but it still reached those who looked for it. The pony behind the camera raised his hoof above his head, counting down until they were live; at zero, the red light at the top of the camera turned green; they were live.

“Good morning, New Canterlot,” she spoke out into the microphone. Her voice was steady and authoritative; years of watching Auntie Twilight holding court came into use as she spoke to the ponies of her own court, the court of truth. “I am your host, Crystal Inkwell. Today is the Monday of the third moon, in the one thousand and first year in the era of the council. The time is six am.” She pushed through the introduction, wanting nothing more than to get to today's story; appearance was everything to the camera, however, and she was forced into the role.

“I am standing outside of the capitol building right now, where last night the council held a meeting to decide on the fate of a bill that would cut all remaining funding that was dedicated to the preservation of the crystal palace.” She took a breath. She needed to be strong now; she could show weakness at a time like this. “For those viewers that don’t know, when the Crystal Empire gave its land to the council in good faith and partnership, they formed an agreement that would preserve the capital of the Empire due to the historical importance of the building and for the artifacts that are held within its walls.”

She took a breath. “This was due to the fact that the first prince of the late Crystal Empire is also buried on the castle grounds; it was the last wish of the late princess that his grave be respected for all that he did.” She turned and pointed a hoof at the council building. “For the last six hundred years, the council has upheld its agreement, until last night, when in a meeting the current council, known for its controversial policies, passed a bill to cut the funding.”

She turned back to the camera, her face sullen. “Without that funding, the Crystal Palace that has stood the test of time for thousands of years will fall into disarray. I ask you, dear viewer, is the redirecting of funds as important as breaking that long-held promise and displacing the final resting place of one of Equestria's last great heroes" Crystal Inkwell Bowed her head in silence for a moment as to let the question sink in with a crowd that wasn't there.

She raised it a moment later. “I am here today to get the opinion of the councilors that pushed this bill through.” She turned and pointed a hoof at the brown-furred pony that looked like he was rushing to get away from the camera. “Here is one now.” Not today, Flurry Heart thought as she nearly tackled the pony blocking his path of escape as the camera got eyes on him.

She forced the microphone into his face as she asked her own question. “Councilor Royal Scroll, is it true that a bill was just passed to cut funding to the Crystal Palace Preservation Fund?” She waited for him to answer, for him to admit that promise that they were breaking. The councilor glared daggers at her; she did the same. He straightened himself up and spoke. His voice sounded confident, but she knew it was hollow words from a hollow stallion.

"Yes, and while it might be a shame for such a bill to go through, I and the other councilors feel that it is a waste of money to keep up that rickety old castle when it could be going to bigger and better things." She would have killed him if she could have gotten away with it. She hated how proud the fool looked; if he had wings, they might have been spread in false victory. Time to knock him down a peg.

“What of the history that the castle holds and the artifacts that it houses, and what project is the funding being routed to as the city's project manager, Golden Apple, is still facing counts of embezzlement of government funds and is waiting for trial?” she shot back. Golden Apple was a sore spot for Royal Scroll, and she knew it. He had almost got dragged down with that idiot.

She wanted him to act out, to do something that she could hit him with; to her dismay, however, he was smarter than his counterparts that walked the capital halls. He dodged the questions with all the grace of a wendigo on the run. “Be that as it may, it was decided by the council and will be placed in more than capable hooves.” Royal Scroll stated as he picked up his foreleg and checked his watch, “Now I have no more time for questions; I am already late as it is.”

Flurry Heart's rage could have leveled a mountain; it didn’t help that the traitor took his place. Twilight sparkles glimmer TWINKLE took her place in front of the camera, spieling the same crap she always did; why she defended that waste of space, Flurry would never understand. It was only after the councilor called her way that Flurry looked at her, mouthing out the word traitor as they locked eyes.

She turned back to the camera after words, not letting Twinkle give a reaction. “As you can see, every creature, dark times are on the way for New Canterlot, as our leaders go back on old promises and destroy the past of our great nation.” She let a moment pass. “For those with us, this is the end of this breaking story. If any other news comes up, you will all be the first to know. I will leave you with our main office with the rest of today’s news.”

The green light on the camera disappeared, and the pony manning it started to pack it up. She stood there for a moment just thinking. She hadn't talked to her mother in years; she must have heard the news by now. Twilight would have told her. She knew they still talked, and this wasn't something that Twilight would keep from her. She walked over to the news van, opening the passenger door and pulling out her phone. Opening it, she checked her messages; nothing that was super urgent. She opened the contact that was labeled Cadence.

The last message was from two years ago; it was from her mother. It went unreplied to, of course. No matter what, I am proud of you, she read it to herself. She went to type something but couldn’t find the words; maybe it was time for them to talk again; maybe this would be Flurries chance to make her mother see the world how she did. “Comet, I need you to drop me off somewhere on the way back to the station; I have someone to see,” Flurry yelled this over her shoulder, not even looking to see the reaction. She knew he heard; he always did.

Chrysalis

This was the first time that Chrysalis had gotten to relax in a long while. After she had called Cadence, she went to take a shower in the small bathroom; it was far from the nicest she had ever bathed in but wasn't by far the worst. All of the lights turned on, the water was hot, and the water pressure was stellar for the age of the building. She went easy on the soaps that Cadence had; it seemed that while the ex-princess cut corners in some parts of her life, expensive soaps were not one of the cuts that were made. Some of the ones that she spotted must have been at least a month's pay, if not more.

She remade the bed that she had slept in that night, feeling bad about messing it up in her panic this morning; however, she found that Cadence had done most of the work while she was getting ready this morning. That left her with little to do for the rest of the day other than to sit around. Cadence had left her a key in case she wanted to leave, but Chrysalis wasn't in the mood to don a disguise. She would use this time to regain her strength. That mostly just left reading or watching TV.

Cadence's living room had a small bookshelf, and to no surprise, most of the books in her collection were romance and, very much to her surprise, a little smut, having found Fifty Shades of Neigh behind the Dusk Dawn book series. She had read a little bit of Fifty Shades, but she found it rather distasteful; she had definitely read better. It still helped pass the time faster than doing nothing, and before she knew it, the locked doorknob rattled and unlocked itself. It was not Cadence nor her disguise that opened it but the news mare.

They stared at each other for a long moment, Chrysalis laid out on the love seat reading, the news mare standing in the doorway rendered speechless and frozen; there they had the stare down for the ages until Chrysalis broke the silence: “If you are here to rob the place, I will stop you. I owe the mare here a great debt." She made to stand; while she might be weak by alicorn standards, she could more than easily kill a normal pony. It was then that the glimmer that Flurry Heart was wearing faded and left a stunned Chrysalis in its wake.

Chrysalis blinked at the sight; there was no way that a glimmer had tricked her. She narrowed her eyes; maybe this was the glimmer. She scanned the mare in front of her; nothing. This was another alicorn. How many did this make now? Chrysalis took a step back as the unknown took a step forward. She was just a head shorter than Chrysalis but not quite as small as a normal pony.

She looked like a young Cadence, yet Chrysalis could see something else in her she couldn’t quite place, something that she had seen long ago; maybe it was the blue streaks that slipped through her pink mane or the lighter white pink feathers that lined her wings. The alicorn stopped right in front of Chrysalis, who had hit a wall just a few steps back after backing up. They stared each other down, hard eyes meeting Chrysalis’s.

Flurry was the first to speak, her voice soft, a juxtaposition to the hard stance she took. “Mom always did like taking in strays.” Chrysalis looked on in stunned silence as the alicorn backed off after that, making her way over to the kitchen, digging through the cabinets for something that only she knew. Chrysalis’s mind played catch-up.

Her voice came out low and surprised. “Mother,” she stepped forward, “as in Cadence.” Chrysalis could see more than see the resemblance, but who was the father? She looked closer at the mare that moved with grace through the kitchen as if she lived here, her magic finding a kettle without even looking. Chrysalis’s mind scanned her new interest, and then it hit her: the blue in the mane, the white feathers, the I can kill you without thinking look—only one other pony had that look, and he was long dead. That narrowed it down to one other pony, Flurry Heart. The last time she had seen the alicorn, she was barely able to walk without falling over.

Here she is now, so much like her father from all those centuries ago. Flurry's voice broke through the spell that had been cast on Chrysalis, making her look away from the alicorn. “It's not nice to stare, you know.” Flurry was right, of course, but she also wasn't seeing a ghost from the past every time she looked at herself. A screaming kettle sounded a moment later. Chrysalis didn’t know what was happening until a cup had floated it was over to her, soon followed by Flurry Heart, who pushed the changeling over so that she could have a seat on the love seat. Chrysalis watched the alicorn take a sip of her tea.

A sigh escaped from the mare as she placed her mug down on the small coffee table in front of them. “So where is Cadence at?” Flurry asked in a confused voice.

“She is at work; she said she would be back later.” Chrysalis replied; she took note of how she said Cadence instead of mom or mother this time. “She was in a rush and didn’t give a time. Chrysalis took a sip of her tea, doing her best not to make this awkward. She was again lost on pony formalities when it came to friendly banter; give her a target to seduce, and she would have them like putty in her hooves; have her try to make a real friend, and you might as well tell her to put that same pony on the moon.

Flurry let out an irritated sigh. “Let me guess, she still has that silver lining cover story.” Chrysalis nodded her head in the affirmative, causing a rant from the pink mare next to her: “This wasn't how it was supposed to be; it was nothing more than a hobby.” Flurry stood up, her anger building, flooding the room with a black and red cloud. “Celestia wouldn't have wanted this for her.”

Chrysalis sat back and listened to the mare as she raged, “Nothing is as it should be,” using her magic to take the delicate cup of tea from her warpath. “They keep acting like everything will work out, but it won't.” Flurry Heart sat back down, taking the cup back and taking a sip from the tea sitting there in the quiet. Chrysalis did not know what to say or do. That was becoming more and more commonplace over the day.

Flurry Heart looked to Chrysalis with an odd look, like she finally recognized who she was. “I thought all the changelings bit it a long time ago.” She waved over Chrysalis. “I guess if anyone was to survive, it would have been the queen. I am surprised Mom took you in.” She sipped her tea, waiting for the changeling to say anything.

Chrysalis though out her response taking a tentative sip of tea, she was not a tea drinker, it in all honesty tasted like hot leaf juice, but she knew for some reason the alicorns dank the stuff like water. “I don’t know why either” she let slip “I found her last night; she fed me and brought me back here.”

Flurry Heart smiled just a little. “Like I said, she always did take in strays.” She looked to a family photo on the wall; it was old, very old, and showed a picture of a happy family, two alicorns and a white unicorn, all standing in front of a crystal palace that shone in the summer sun. “they told me stories about you, how you ruined their wedding, tried to take over Canterlot.” She turned back to face Chrysalis, her hard eyes of stone glaring down. “I don’t have anything against you, but if you so much as look at Cadence wrong…” She leaned in close. “I. WILL. KILL. YOU.”

The message was more than clear to Chrysalis; she opened her mouth to speak when the apartment door opened, and in walked the topic of conversation. Cadence stopped and stared at the two; she only looked at Chrysalis for a moment before her eyes froze on Flurry. A mix of emotions came from the two, happiness, sadness, and betrayal; it was clear the two of them had something happen. Chrysalis could feel the pressure; if Cadence hadn’t been blocking the door, she would have tried to make a break for it; an argument between alicorns was not something that she wanted to find herself in.

A slight glint of hope passed through the eyes of Cadence as she fully stepped into the room, closing the door behind her as she made her way into the kitchen, pouring herself a mug of tea. Using the counter as a table, she placed her mug down. “It's good to see you again, Flurry.” Her voice was kind and soft; a sorrowful undertone spoke more to the relationship.

Flurry Heart responded with all the warmth of a block of ice, nodding her head, “Cadence."

Cadence flinched at the response, but she was able to keep most of her composure, her hurt expression only showing for a moment. “I hope that you have been well.” She didn’t get a reply, but she had known that would happen. The next thing that came out of Flurries mouth did come as a surprise, however. “Mom,” the voice had taken on a softer tone, broken and deflated, like the mask of anger was too much to keep up. “Can we…” Chrysalis could tell she was trying to find the words. “Can we just talk in private?”

Cadence looked to Chrysalis, who simply tended to her cup of tea; she was not going to get involved in whatever this was. She heard a sigh escape from the older alicorn. “Let's talk in the bedroom.”